Finance & economics | The missing million

The cracks in America’s ultra-strong labour market

With a big discrepancy in jobs data, the economy may be weaker than it seems

The U.S. Federal Reserve Marriner S. Eccles building in Washington, DC, United States
Photograph: Alamy
|Washington, DC

It is the million-person mystery, and its solution will help determine just how strong American growth truly is. According to an official survey of employers, America’s economy has added 1.2m jobs in net terms since the start of the year. But a separate survey of households paints a completely different picture: that the country has in fact shed about 100,000 jobs over the same time period.

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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “The missing million”

From the June 15th 2024 edition

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